Court hears arguments over benefits for “displaced worker”

(AP) – The Delaware Supreme Court is hearing arguments over a company’s efforts to terminate benefits for a worker who was injured on the job and now faces hardships finding another job because she is in the country illegally.

Roos Foods, a now-defunct cheese company, sought to terminate Magdalena Guardado’s benefits in 2014, saying she was physically able to return to work.

The Industrial Accident Board denied the company’s petition, saying Guardado was a “displaced worker,” and that the company had not shown there was work available for her.

A Superior Court judge upheld the board’s decision earlier this year, saying Guardado, although medically able to work, qualified as a displaced worker for several reasons, including that she is unskilled, does not speak English, and cannot work legally in this country.